Following the paper trail? An antiquated system hampers FDA in tracking deadly E. coli outbreaks

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Jan 24, 2020 Following the paper trail? An antiquated system hampers FDA in tracking deadly E. coli outbreaks A Boston Globe/NBC News collaboration has found that the FDA often struggles to trace the source of food contamination back to a single farm with certainty. Part of the FDA's problem with finding the source of illnesses is an outdated process, according to Christine Haughney of the Spotlight Fellows program, who has spent six months investigating the FDA response to E. coli outbreaks linked to tainted lettuce. "A lot of what we see in the lettuce and leafy greens industry is that everything is still paper based," she said. "So FDA investigators will walk in, and will just be handed thousands of pieces of paper, and [be told], 'Figure it out.'"  Read more on this story on NBCNews.com, and watch the report on "Nightly News With Lester Holt" at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT. Read More Get the NBC News Mobile App Follow NBC News Check out all of NBCNEWS Newsletters here. Update Preferences | Unsubscribe | Contact | Privacy Update Preferences Unsubscribe Contact Privacy